Heretofore, flexible tubing has been directed laterally through a lateral opening in casing about a main well bore and an elbow has been lowered within the casing to receive the flexible tubing for being directed laterally by the elbow through a lateral opening in the casing for penetrating the surrounding formation. A lateral opening is normally utilized by flexible or coiled tubing for a lateral bore hole in an area of the formation adjacent the opening. A casing may be perforated at different heights in the same pay zone and fluids may be communicated between the perforated areas into the adjacent formation.
It is desirable for certain procedures that lateral bore hole openings for separate lateral bore holes at a similar depth be isolated from each other to prevent fluid communication between different lateral bore holes and to permit different treatments in formations adjacent different lateral openings.
After drilling of a lateral bore hole from a main bore hole, the flexible tubing is withdrawn from the main bore hole and removed to another site. To reenter the main bore hole and utilize a selected lateral opening existing in the casing for identifying a specific lateral bore hole such as required for a well stimulation procedure utilizing coiled tubing, for example, the elbow receiving the flexible tubing must be precisely aligned with the existing lateral opening for the lateral bore hole.
It is an object of the invention to provide a packer for a well bore hole having a lateral opening for a lateral bore hole, the packer sealing about the lateral opening in an inflated position and having a passage therein for guiding flexible tubing from the main bore hole through the lateral opening for the lateral bore hole into the adjacent formation.
A further object of the invention is to provide an orienting structure in the main bore hole below the packer for orienting the packer in the event it is desired to reenter or isolate the lateral bore hole such as required for well stimulation, for example.